Tom LaBonge

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Robert deVico can't help but laugh at the irony: a 1920s advertisement for his Hollywoodland neighborhood lured homebuyers by promising sylvan hills "above the traffic laden arteries, congestion, smoke and fog of the metropolis" and branded the community with a giant mountainside sign.

Today, the Hollywood sign is Los Angeles' most famous landmark and deVico's ridge-top street, which offers the best view around, boastsNew York City-worthy gridlock.

"It can take me 40 minutes to get out of my driveway. What if I had an emergency with my child?" sputtered the production designer, who bought his house 12 years ago. "It's like...

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Robert deVico can't help but laugh at the irony: a 1920s advertisement for his Hollywoodland neighborhood lured homebuyers by promising sylvan hills "above the traffic laden arteries, congestion, smoke and fog of the...